CHILDREN as young as five have helped design a new play area for Areley Kings.

The £30,000 playground will open with the new village hall which will transform the recreation area in January.

A survey was carried out among pupils and parents at the two first schools in the area, the playgroup and the after-school club, with some 57 filling in questionnaires.

Children at Areley Common First School, aged five to nine, then designed their "dream playground", while a dozen youngsters took part in detailed talks.

Their top ideas included: separate coloured play areas for younger children and toddlers; soft play bark or grass instead of safety play surfacing; assault course style equipment and covered seating.

New Village Hall Committee chairman Rob Fowler said: "It's tremendous. I thought they'd just go for things that were fantastic but they were very sensible."

Organisers of the project now intend to incorporate as many of the ideas as possible into the finished design as the budget allows.

Stourport Town Council has already pledged £8,000 while a bid has been made for £7,000 from the Countryside Agency.

The remainder will come from the £500,000 village hall project fund.